2023 Basketball Playoff Memo to Schools

February 14, 2023

SPORTS UPDATE | 2023 Basketball Playoff Information
February 13, 2023

Schedule and Ticket Prices

Round	Host	Date	Admission Price
1	Higher Seed	Tuesday, February 21	$7.00 – 1 Game $8.00 – 2 Games
2	Higher Seed	Thursday, February 23	$7.00 – 1 Game $8.00 – 2 Games
3	Higher Seed	Saturday, February 25	$7.00 – 1 Game $8.00 – 2 Games
4	Higher Seed	Tuesday, February 28	$8.00 – 1 Game $9.00 – 2 Games
Regional	Higher Seed HomeTeam- Played at Neutral Sites	Saturday, March 4	TBD
State Championships	Reynolds Coliseum, NCSU Smith Center, UNC	Saturday, March 11	$15.00 (Digital Only)

Contests may not be played after the date listed for each round unless postponed due to inclement weather.
Schools wishing to utilize digital ticketing during the playoff rounds are encouraged to do so. If the host school does not currently work with a digital ticketing platform, as a resource, we offer forth contact information for the Go Fan digital ticketing platform:
Brett Marbut, (bmarbut@gofan.co) Office: 678-679-7655; Mobile: 404-502-2681
NCHSAA Pass List

Facilities

Schools must maintain seating for participants and spectators, with one-third (1/3) of the available seating reserved for the visiting team’s spectators.
The NCHSAA reserves the right to require host teams in the playoffs to find an adequate facility based on expected attendance or quality of venue (Handbook Rule 2.2.3 (d) (1-7). The NCHSAA Staff will work with the NC Basketball Coaches Association to identify potential neutral sites and make them available for use if it becomes necessary to move a Fourth Round or Regional contest from the home site of the higher-seeded team.

Game Times

Schools are responsible for entering/updating their game times on the brackets via MaxPreps.
Single Games – Default game time is 7:00 p.m.

· By mutual agreement, a game time of 6:00 p.m. is permissible.

· Game time will be 6:00 p.m. if the visiting team is over 100 miles one-way.

Doubleheaders – Default game times are 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- By mutual agreement, a doubleheader may be played at 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. If travel is greater than 100 miles one-way, game times shall be 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the game involving the visiting team with the greatest travel distance being played at 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays – Games may be played at any time if mutually agreed upon.
- If teams cannot mutually agree, the higher-seeded team may choose a starting time between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
  - Between 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. if the visiting team is over 100 miles one-way.

Officials

*Rounds*	Officials Association
1^st – 2^nd	Local Regional Supervisor of higher seed
3^rd – 4^th	State Supervisor of Officials
Regional	State Supervisor of Officials
State	State Supervisor of Officials

Game Ball

NCHSAA approved balls are required for all playoff events. The Wilson Evo NXT Basketball (WTB0900 for men and WTB0901 for women).

Suspended Game

If a contest is suspended at any point, it is resumed from the point of interruption unless the teams mutually agree to terminate the game with the existing score. Please notify the NCHSAA staff immediately if there is a situation that dictates a suspended game.

Mercy Rule

· Once the score reaches a 40-point differential at halftime or thereafter, the game will resort to a running clock, including the administration of free throws or all other dead ball situations, except for timeouts called by a coach or official; the game can be terminated by mutual agreement.

Reporting Playoff Advancement

Teams shall enter results into their MaxPreps schedule/results by 6:00 a.m. the next day. The brackets will populate according to the results

Video Streaming

We must remind you that the NCHSAA holds the broadcast rights for the NCHSAA Playoffs.These rights are based on the contract with our partners at the NFHS Network
Any school that is a part of the NFHS Network may broadcast or stream its home playoff contests exclusively through the NFHS Network platform for no additional fee.
If the school is not a part of the NFHS Network, either as a Pixellot or Student Broadcast Program school, the school may submit a broadcast request form to the NCHSAA prior to the game.
- If approved, the school could produce a streaming broadcast of the playoff contest
- There is a fee of $250 per game that must be paid by the broadcasting entity (whether it is a school or third-party producer) to stream any playoff event on any platform other than the NFHS Network.
  - This includes YouTube, Facebook Live, or any other streaming service.
  - This fee must be paid and reported on the financial forms following the contest.

Please contact Assistant Commissioner James Alverson (james@nchsaa.org) with any questions.

Financials

As approved by the NCHSAA Board of Directors, the NCHSAA will NOT receive an Endowment fund surcharge for any round of the playoffs.
Host schools are still required to fill out the financial forms for each contest through DragonFly.
Team Expenses: The NCHSAA receives 15% of the gross gate from the first, second, and third rounds of playoff games. The NCHSAA will receive 20% of the gross gate from the fourth round and 60% from the regionals and state championships. In all rounds prior to the regional championship, participating schools will divide the remainder equally after applying the following expense formula:
- Where the distance between the competing schools is 100 miles or less, the visiting school will pay for its own transportation and meals and the host school will provide the playing facility, ticket takers, security, and balls at no charge. The officials are to be paid from gate receipts.
- Where the distance is more than 100 miles, the same plan should be followed except that the host school pays the officials, rather than from gate receipts.
- All concession rights belong to the host school.
- Participating schools are responsible for dividing any deficit or net.
- The principal of the host school, or appointed game manager, must forward the financial report and ticket accountability form to the NCHSAA within 10 days after the contest.
Fundraisers by Home Team
- Fundraising by home teams during the playoffs is permissible, provided there is clear communication that the NCHSAA in no way endorses or benefits financially from the fundraising event (Ex. 50/50 raffle)

Cheerleaders

NCHSAA Rule 3.5.2 Philosophy of Cheerleading: Cheerleaders serve as a support group for the different interscholastic athletic teams within their school.
- Cheerleaders should always strive to improve student morale, boost team spirit, and help a school achieve the most worthwhile objectives in its interscholastic program.
- Positive crowd and student body involvement, directed by the cheerleading squad in support of the school team, should be a major goal.
  - CHEER BATTLING IS PROHIBITED!
Cheerleaders must remain seated while the ball is in play, which includes after the free throw shooter is handed the ball. Cheerleaders may not come onto the floor during 30-second timeouts. The use of signage is allowed during timeouts.

o If on floor level (floor or first row of bleachers), cheerleaders must remain seated while the ball is in play, which includes after the free throw shooter is handed the ball.

o If on the second row of bleachers or higher, cheerleaders may stand to cheer while the ball is in play.

NFHS Spirit Rule: 3-1-1 Jewelry of any kind is prohibited except for the following: A religious medal without a chain is allowed and must be taped and worn under the uniform. A medial-alert medal must be taped and may be visible.
NFHS Spirit Rule: 3-5-3 Tosses are permitted provided all the following conditions are met:

o The toss is executed only on grass (real or artificial), a mat or a rubberized track.

o The toss does not involve more than four tossers, including the person who may set or "load" the top person.

o One of the tossers is behind the top person throughout the toss.

o The top person is cradled by at least two of the original tossers and a separate head-and-shoulders spotter who was one of the original tossers.

o The top person does not hold objects in his/her hands (e.g., poms, signs, etc.).